Florence is the native city of Dante, the father of the Italian language, an ideal location for our Italian Language school. To this day, almost 700 years after his death, Florence still enjoys the unquestioned title of 'centre of the Italian language'. Florence is also the cradle of the Renaissance and the home of innumerable art treasures. A short twenty minutes walk from the historical centre of the town will bring you to the hills where you can see the harmonious blend of nature and civilisation over the centuries. There is also the Tuscan countryside, famous for its characteristic rolling hills and art treasures, easily accessible by bus or train.

The Institute
Learn to speak fluent Italian at our Italian Language school housed in a beautiful palace in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella, one of the finest historical squares in Florence. Situated only 100 metres from the central station, our windows offer a splendid view of San Lorenzo and the Duomo which are just a short walk away. The Italian language school has a friendly atmosphere where you will feel at home.

Methodology
Teaching methods are based on modern communication techniques with audiovisual and multimedia equipment, assisting students to acquire a solid grammatical base. All teachers are university graduates qualified in teaching Italian as a second language. They are fully experienced, enthusiastic and dedicated to making programmes enjoyable and productive. For best results, classes are divided into six levels and have no more than 7 students. The Italian language school has its own language laboratory with video and CD-Rom facilities to support learning. These facilities are freely available to students, even after class hours. Internet access is also available.

The Programmes
Standard Italian courses (4 hours a day) normally take place in the morning. If courses are held in the evening, they will not clash with scheduled extra curricular activities. Intensive Italian courses (6 hours a day) take place in the morning and early afternoon. Conversation hours are usually offered either during the second session of standard courses or in the afternoon session of intensive courses. One lesson hour lasts 50 minutes.

Special Courses
Music school: Since we are also a Music School, singers are always welcome and we offer private lessons for all levels, courses for two people or small groups with highly qualified teachers.
Pronunciation for Singers: for students who wish to master the phonetics and pronunciation of the language of opera. This course looks at the language of Libretto and Old Italian.
Other special courses: Italian Literature, Business or Technical Italian, Art History, Culture & Society.

Activities
There is a whole variety of out of class activities enabling students to appreciate Florence in a relaxed way while putting into practice some of the language skills learned at the Italian Language School in Florence Italy. We organise seminars on Italian history and culture, guided visits to museums and monuments, evening gatherings at the Institute or in Florentine pubs, and trips and excursions all over Tuscany.

In addition to the activities especially organised for our students, you can also benefit from the cultural programme we produce in collaboration with the public administration of Florence and other municipalities in the province. In the summer and other periods of local/national festivities there are numerous concerts and cultural events about which we will be pleased to inform you.

Accommodation
Good accommodation is essential to make your stay enjoyable at our Italian language school in Florence Italy. Our school can assist in finding suitable accommodation, ranging from rooms (single or double) in an apartment with other students or Italian families, in an apartment of your own, in a hotel, or in country houses just outside Florence. All accommodation has been carefully selected by our staff.

See also One-to-One Italian Homestays in Italy